Michael Flynn may have finally given the Feds a way to work around his pardon and put him in prison
Of all the last minute pardons that Donald Trump handed out to his cronies, the one he gave to Michael Flynn was the broadest and most legally competently worded – which tells you whom Trump feared the most. Flynn now appears to believe he’s above the law, but he may have just blown it for himself.
During a particularly deranged far right event this weekend, Michael Flynn said that there was “no reason” why a coup shouldn’t happen in the United States. He then added for emphasis: “It should happen here.”
Make no mistake: this is not only a direct call to violence, it’s a direct call for the violent overthrow of the United States government. Given Michael Flynn’s status as a retired U.S. Military General, and the role he helped play in inciting the January 6th Capitol attack, Flynn’s words this weekend have to be seen as a felony.
Pardons don’t cover crimes that are committed after the pardon was issued. We’ve already been waiting to see if the ongoing DOJ investigation into the Capitol attack ends up taking Flynn down. But now that Flynn is openly and specifically calling for another violent insurrection against the United States, the Feds have a clear path for taking him down. He won’t be able to argue that his words prior to January 6th were taken out of context or misunderstood, given that he just called for another insurrection. The sooner Flynn is arrested, the better.
